History and Current Developments of Community Engagement and Domestic Violence in Germany

Background/Purpose: Since the women’s movement spoke out about domestic violence in Germany 45 years ago, Germany has achieved an institutional support structure that includes 363 shelters; a 24/7 national helpline; free counseling services; and legislative changes addressing domestic violence. Despite these widespread changes, domestic violence remains prevalent with 22% of adult women reporting experiencing at least one incident of domestic violence in their lifetime (European Union Agency for Human Rights, 2014). Studies also show that most victims of domestic violence do not call the police or turn to social services. The gap in responses to domestic violence is prevention and intervention relying on informal social networks, neighbors and community members. Despite Germany’s rich history of community work, the value of community knowledge, skills and intervention potential for domestic violence has been largely neglected. Since the mid-1990s, efforts to implement community work as an approach to encourage community engagement to prevent domestic violence and to establish social networks in local communities have increased. One specific model for this kind of work, “StoP,” has been developed at the University of Applied Sciences in Hamburg where it has been implemented in six different neighborhoods.

Methods: Preliminary research reviewed all domestic violence programs in Germany as well as existing domestic violence measures. Applying the theoretical framework, “systemic paradigm of social work,” established by the Zurich School of Social Work, the study focused on domestic violence prevention programs to form the foundation for StoP, a neighborhood based prevention model. The current research examines community views of domestic violence, their potential roles in prevention and intervention, and community-led actions to address domestic violence. Data was collected through 20 semi-structured interviews with local StoP stakeholders, 695 structured interviews with broader community members, two focus group interviews and five semi-structured interviews with StoP activists. Data were coded and analyzed using MAXQDA and SPSS.

Results: The findings revealed limited knowledge of domestic violence dynamics with understanding limited to physical and verbal violence. Respondents were also unaware of what types of actions they could take to respond to domestic violence. Other perceptions included a gender binary view of female victims and male perpetrators which limited male community member solidarity with victims. Finally, stereotyping of domestic violence as more common among racially marginalized populations were prevalent within ethnically diverse neighborhoods. On the other hand, research also revealed preexisting informal structures of victim support and solidarity. Orientation towards community work was linked to a higher level of awareness regarding neighborhood conditions, readiness for interventions and strengthened social networks.

Implications: This study has important implications for community engagement applied to domestic violence including critical information about limitations and potentials for social network responses. The findings can inform future directions for community engagement to prevent domestic violence, reduce harm and build stronger and more gender sensitive communities.